Deeply frustrating? Highly sustaining?

Abstract

For some years we have been exploring the formation of professional identity amongst lecturers in the further education (FE) sector in England, gathering data in particular from trainee lecturers and new entrants to FE teaching. Our discussions, not to say arguments, about our data, have circled around our visions, politics, hopes and ideals, and how these might be shared and realized in the practices of teaching and learning in FE. This paper explores what has sustained our working together: - the ideas, theories and visions that underly our work - our differences and disagreements - our debates about the data we have gathered. We consider whether moments of deep frustration – with each other, with our data, with further education – might also be seen as highly sustaining, and a basis for our continued interest and work in this field